The 2nd part of the photographic triangle

speed refers to the amount of time your sensor is exposed to light.  In was the length of time that the film was exposed to the scene you’re taking a picture of.  In , it is the same except that your film is replaced with a sensor that does the same thing.  Shutter speed can range from very slow speeds such several seconds (or minutes on the setting) to 1/1600 of a second or faster.  It might help to visualize your shutter literally as a door, with your shutter speed controlling how fast or how slow the door opens and closes.

 In most cases you’ll probably be using shutter speeds of 1/60th of a second or faster.  This is because anything slower than this is very difficult to use without getting shake. http://flickr.com/photos/konaboy/72845202 /  The faster you set your shutter speed, the more you will “freeze” motion.  some go as fast as 1/8000th sec!  Alternately some images made at night with a can be several hours long.  If handholding try not to use a speed below 1/60thsec.  Longer lenses need faster speeds to obtain a sharp image, i.e. 200mm lens use 1/250th.  A faster shutter speed doesn’t allow light to hit your sensor for a long amount of time.  The fastest shutter speed on record is from the “Steam” Camera, which uses lasers or some junk to take really fast (as fast as up to 440 trillionths of a second!).  Shutter Speeds are usually denoted on your camera as fractions or real numbers:  1/800, 1/600, 1/400, 1/250, 1/200, 1/125, 1/60, 1/15, 1/10, 1, 2, 4, 8, 15, 20, 30.  These are all related to seconds, with 1/800 = 1/800th of a second and 15” = 15 seconds.  8”  1/500  ¼  2”6  30”  60”  45”8

 Long(er) shutter speeds will blur motion.  Tripods are a necessity when shooting long shutter shots.  When considering what shutter speed to use in an image you should always ask yourself whether anything in your scene is moving and how you’d like to capture that movement.  If there is movement in your scene you have the choice of either freezing the movement (so it looks still) or letting the moving object intentionally blur (giving it a sense of movement).

 Six month of the sun going over a bridge made from photo paper inside of a coca-cola can with a 25mm pinhole punched in the side.  Use your tripod (or a flat, stable surface) for shutter speeds slower than 1/50th of a second -- so any shutter speed reading 50 or below, and anything with inch marks. Use a slow shutter speed to portray a blurred subject or surroundings.  If you are hand-holding your camera, set your shutter speed at a minimum of 1/60th of a second (indicated by the number 60) or faster.  Hold your breath while taking the photo to help keep yourself steady. If you are wiggly or have wiggly subjects, increase your shutter speed.  Fast-moving objects will need a faster shutter speed, around 1/1000 of a second or higher, in order to freeze the subject(s) in action.  Shutter Priority Mode (where you control only the shutter speed and your camera controls everything else) is designated by “TV” mode on your DSLR.  You set the shutter speed and the camera will do it’s best to select the correct setting to get the right exposure.

 You must understand how to control both (aperture) and subject  movement (shutter speed) in your pictures. Which is most important?  That varies with the type of subject you are shooting.  When you want to stop motion, you will have a fast shutter speed and usually a smaller aperture (less light) Fast shutter speed  Don’t think about shutter speed without considering your ISO and Aperture, as well.  As you change shutter speed you’ll need to change one or both of the other elements to compensate for it.  For example if you speed up your shutter speed one stop (for example from 1/125th to 1/250th) you’re effectively letting half as much light into your camera.  To compensate for this you’ll probably need to increase your aperture one stop (for example from f16 to f11).  The other alternative would be to choose a faster ISO rating (we’ll talk more about this later).

 A faster shutter speed will freeze action whereas a slower shutter speed can create a blurred effect (or can just be downright blurry.)  When you set your shutter speed on your camera, you’ll see numbers like 60, 120, 250, 1000 and so on.  These actually represent 1/60th of a second, 1/120th of a second and so on.  So the higher the bottom number on the fraction, the faster the shutter speed. The smaller the number, the slower the shutter speed.  You will also see shutter speeds for seconds, indicated by inch marks (").  For example, if the display says 1"5, that indicates a shutter speed of 1½ seconds. If the display says 30", the shutter will be open for 30 seconds.